Polanski Agreed To $500,000 Payment In Civil Suit

Film director Roman Polanski agreed to pay his sexual assault victim $500,000 to settle a lawsuit 15 years after he fled the United States, according to court documents provided to media outlets Friday.

The deal between Polanski and the victim, Samantha Geimer, was reached in October 1993. The terms of the settlement were confidential, but the amount was disclosed in court documents because of a two-year struggle to get Polanski to pay.

Court records do not indicate if Polanski, now 76, ever paid. The last court filing in August 1996 shows Polanski owed Geimer $604,416.22, including interest.

Polanski's attorney, David Finkle, said he couldn't remember details of the case and declined comment. A phone message left for Geimer's attorney, Lawrence Silver, wasn't immediately returned. Geimer and her family also have not returned calls this week seeking comment.

Polanski pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with Geimer, who was 13 years old in 1977. He fled in 1978 before he was sentenced and is being held in Switzerland after his arrest there last weekend on a fugitive warrant in the case.

Geimer, who long ago identified herself, sued Polanski in December 1988, alleging sexual assault, infliction of emotional distress and seduction.